Video: From folklore to finish, the art of making Guacamelee

"Ugly drawings have the best personality.

"Ugly drawings have the best personality. The goal of the drawing is to communicate, not to look pretty." - Drinkbox Studios artist Augusto Quijano cautions developers against emphasizing visual fidelity over personality at GDC 2014.

To hear Drinkbox Studios' Augusto Quijano tell it, the process of coming up with an art style that uniquely communicates a whole country's rich culture can be daunting. But that's exactly what Drinkbox set out to do with Guacamelee , a vibrant 2D platformer that attempted to build a world out of a country's cultural heritage.

Quijano is responsible for the art design of the game, and in his GDC 2014 talk he tried to give insight into the development process and how Drinkbox tried created a Mexico that feels authentic. However, this process is never done in a straight line, so the talk will show some of those

It's a good talk, one that covers some of the wrong turns and "not-so-pretty winding paths" that Drinkbox during development of Guacamelee and is therefore worth watching for artists and anyone who seeks to make a visually distinctive game. We've taken the liberty of embedding the free video of "The Art of Making Guacamelee! -- From Folklore to Finish" above, but you can also watch it hereon the GDC Vault.
About the GDC VaultIn addition to this presentation, the GDC Vaultoffers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.

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